


La fin du Silence

by SovengardeSwag



Category: Le Roman de Silence | The Romance of Silence
Genre: Alternate Ending, Coming of Age, Gen, Gender Issues, Gender Non-conforming Characters, Gender non-conformity, Minstrelsy, Salty at a long dead author, Silence stays a minstrel, The old genre kind not the kissing kind, chivalric romanc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:33:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SovengardeSwag/pseuds/SovengardeSwag
Summary: What if Silence kept her knightly form? What if Nature and Nurture found a compromise? What if Silence was able to inherit her property and stayed a Minstrel because the King didn't marry her. This is that ending.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	La fin du Silence

**Author's Note:**

> The following begins directly after line 6663 of the Sarah Roche-Mahdi translati. All lines that were originally in the text will be bolded.

And so Silence dressed as a woman.

**Lords, what more can I say?**

**Once he was called Silentus:**

He removed the -us, added nothing more

and she was forever Silence.

She shed her armor,

Traded it for a gown.

Happy in her truth

During that first night, while Silence slept,

Nature and Nurture quarrelled once more,

for though Nature wanted to reclaim her rights,

Nurture was a stubborn mistress.

“You can not undo everything that has been done.

You can not make it so nothing has happened. 

For though one can return to their nature,   
it does not undo their nurture.   
For though Merlin ate the meat and drank the wine

he did not choose to return.   
Silence herself returned him to his rightful place.   
you can not undo what has been done.”

And Nature became angry, because she knew   
that Nurture was correct.

But she would not be deterred easily,    
“And why should I give up all the work I put

in making Silence beautiful!   
Should she go her entire life with the burns and calluses

of a man?   
Why should she look mismatched    
now that she accepts her nature?

You say what has be done

cannot be undone, but we both know

that this a lie!”

“Then do what you did when she was a babe,

combine red and white,

make her beautiful once more

but do not undo all my work. 

For just as you made an effort

to make her beautiful,

I made an effort

to make her strong.”

For three days then,

Nature reclaimed Silence’s beauty.

Peeling away sunburnt skin, as though

she were a serpent,

revealing the rosy hue underneath.   
Red married to white,

neither pale nor ruddy,

just as she intended.

But Nurture was not neglected,

the maiden named Silence,

keeping her fingers

calloused by her viol playing,

even as Nature scraped away

the calluses of jousting from her palms.

And when Nature was done correcting,

under Nurture’s supervision,

Silence returned to the court.

Her viol in hand, and her arms strong

under her fine sleeves.

Her cheeks and lips fairylike,

eyes as bright as they had ever been.

And all looked upon her, welcoming her,

As they would any noble lady.

Giving her respect,

As they would any knight.

For she was a knight, 

even as it went against her nature.

Of course there were still whispers

there was still gossip about the court.

Women have long spoken ill of each other

and the men grew jealous too.

But that didn’t matter to Silence

for Reason had long told her

what she did was right.

Shameful though it was.   
And now she was where she should be.

Playing her viol for all who would listen.

For those who scoff at Silence playing for her fellows’

remember that I have made it clear

that she is a noble lady.   
One of strengths,

one who was once a knight,

but a lady nonetheless.

Why should her talents be squandered

when this is the one womanly skill she knows.

For even King Evan appreciated her playing.

He fingers upon the strings,

and her bow moving across the strings,

and not even he, in his want for a new wife,

could take the greatest minstrel away from the world.

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the tags, this was a final project. It was for a Victorian Medievalism course and in that class we read The Romance of Silence. It was a truly fascinating read and the ending truly disappointing me,so I did what I always do. Think of a personally better ending.


End file.
